Billionaires
Industrial and Corporate Change, Forthcoming
32 Pages Posted: 4 May 2012 Last revised: 13 Nov 2012
There are 2 versions of this paper
Billionaires
Date Written: January 2, 2012
Abstract
Existing studies of entrepreneurship focus on entrepreneurs whose individual contribution to wealth creation is typically trivial: self-employed persons. This paper investigates entrepreneurs whose individual contribution to wealth creation is enormous: billionaires. We explore the relationship between economic development, institutions, and these contrasting kinds of entrepreneurs. We find that the institutions consistent with self-employed entrepreneurs differ markedly from the ones consistent with billionaires. Further, only the latter are consistent with the institutions that underlie economic prosperity. Where well-protected private property rights and supporting, market-enhancing institutions flourish, so do billionaires. But self-employed entrepreneurs don't. Where private property rights are weakly protected and interventionist institutions flourish, so do self-employed entrepreneurs. But billionaires don't.
Keywords: Billionaires, Entrepreneurship, Self-employment, Institutions
JEL Classification: L26, O17, N2, H2, L53
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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